As we are leading up to the draft I thought I would list my favorite draftee's from the first 10 years of Lionbacker (2004-2014) by position. This has nothing to do with how they played in the NFL, just what I thought of them coming out of college. Feel free to rip apart or share yours.

QB - JaMarcus Russell (LSU/Raiders 2007) - at 6'6", 260 he had a huge arm and was bigger than any linebackers trying to bring him down. Crushed Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl and had the best pro day of a QB I've ever seen. Had a 167 QB rating his final year at college. I've taken flack for my JaMarcus love post NFL career but he looked like an unstoppable force heading into the draft. Second pick would have been Andrew Luck (Stanford/Colts 2012).

RB - Adrian Peterson (Oklahoma/Vikings 2007) - living in Texas where football was king the hype on Peterson in HS was the most I've ever heard where he averaged 11.8 ypc and scored 32 touchdowns his senior year. He was a punishing running with a rare combo of size, speed, agility and power that looked liked he would terrorize NFL defenses for year if his upright running style didn't get him hurt early in his career. Reggie Bush (USC) was an amazing smaller/shifty RB who was an electrifying talent in college.

WR - Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech/Lions 2007) - at 6'5" 240-lbs Megatron was just a beast of a receiver at Georgia Tech with nearly 3,000 yards in his 3 years that ended with the Biletnikoff Award and a school record 15 touchdowns as a junior. He was also squeaky clean off the field, a guy you just knew would represent his team well in every aspect. When he decided at the last second to run the 40 at the combine, he borrowed someones shoes and ripped of a 4.35, unheard of for a player of his size (his 11'7" broad jump was unbelievable). There have been many WRs I really liked out of college, I really made the case for the Lions to take Julio Jones but CJ was simply the best.

TE - Vernon Davis (Maryland/San Fran 2006) - a workout monster, Davis benched 480-pounds in college with good size and excellent speed (4.38 40) who averaged over 17 ypc his final season at Maryland. Honestly, I haven't been overly impressed with the tight end position during these draft year which is interesting given what a mismatch the position can cause in the NFL.

OT - Jake Long (Michigan/Miami 2008) - of course I watch a lot of Michigan games and was always a jealous Spartan when I saw Long eat up DEs in the maze and blue. He stood out with his size (6'7", 300+ lbs). Him and Joe Thomas (Wisconsin) both in the Big Ten at the same time was a treat to watch unless they were playing my Spartans.

G - Jonathan Cooper (North Carolina/San Fran 2013) - probably the hardest of all positions for me to pick as I typically like the mid rounder guards that I think the Lions will have a shot at. Ideal size for a guard at 6'2", 308 pounds, Cooper opened great holes for Giovani Bernard in the few games I watched the Tar Heals play in 2012.

C - Maurkice Pouncey (Florida/Pittsburgh 2010) - played in college with his twin brother Mike and just looked like one of those centers that you picked and he would give you a very good 10 years snapping the ball. Was the highest center selected since former Lion Damien Woody (New England 1999).

DE - Mario Williams (NC State/Houston 2006) - Jadaveon Clowney (South Carolina) also taken by Houston was very close hear as well but I'd give a slight edge to Williams who had great speed off the edge for the Wolfpack and set their all-time sack record. He had great size 6'6" for his speed which made him a no brainer #1 overall draft pick.

DT - Ndamukong Suh (Nebraska/Detroit 2010) - the most intimidating defensive player I've ever seen in college with an incredible first step and the raw power to throw his double teams around with ease. I focused on him in the Big 12 Championship game against Texas when he looked like an early first round prospect and the Lions picking high in the draft. Texas won 13-12 but the future Lions DT was a monster with 12 tackes (7 for loss, yes seven tackles for loss oh my including 4.5 sacks). I've only ever bought two Lions rookie uniforms, Barry Sanders and Suh.

LB - Patrick Willis (Ole Miss/San Fran 2007) - a tackling machine in college with 11.7 tackles per game. I didn't watch Ole Miss much so it was the Senior Bowl where Willis caught my eye where he looked like the best player on the field. His workout numbers matched what we saw in the game where he ran an impressive 4.38 at his pro day which was crazy for his 240-lb frame. I also really liked Aaron Curry out of Wake Forest in 2009 but he never lived up to how I projected him in the pros.

CB - Patrick Peterson (LSU/Arizona 2011) - I wasn't as even high on Peterson as many others on the Lionbacker board but there was no denying his physical attributes coming out of college as the corner position. At 6'1" with a 4.34 40-yard dash at the combine Peterson was about as sure of a thing at corner as we have seen. His return ability in college put him over the top.

S - Sean Taylor (Miami/Washington 2004) - the first year of Lionbacker we were really into this first draft and Taylor was the guy I really wanted. The first time I watched Miami that year I was just couldn't believe how much this safety seemed to dominate the game. He won pretty much every award a DB can and finished his final season with 10 picks (3 returned for TDs). I remember being excited to see the Miami game versus Pittsburgh in 2003 to see Larry Fitzgerald play WR, Taylor shut him down with just 26 yards receiving.